MSc or Master in Management: which path should you choose for your master's?
A Master of Science or a Master in Management: after a bachelor's (bac+3) or a bac+4, both lead to the same level of qualification, but not by the same path. This choice affects the pace of your studies, the moment you specialise and your first professional experience. Neither path is better in absolute terms.
In brief
A Master of Science is a short, specialised programme, accessible after a bachelor's (bac+3) or a bac+4, whereas the Master in Management runs over two years and builds a generalist outlook before specialisation.
Both lead to a State-accredited qualification at bac+5 level at Excelia Business School, and both are open to work-study.
MSc and Master in Management: understanding the real difference
A Master of Science is a short, career-focused programme lasting 12 to 18 months, accessible after a bachelor's (bac+3) or a bac+4, which takes you straight into a specialisation. This is not a fallback option: it is a choice, that of moving quickly towards an already identified career rather than delaying the decision.
The Master in Management follows a different logic, as it first builds an overall vision of management: strategy, finance, marketing. You choose your specialisation in the second year. At Excelia Business School, both formats coexist because they respond to two different ways of approaching the master's cycle.
This question differs from the one that distinguishes a Master's from a Master of Science. See the difference between a Master's and a Master of Science: here, both paths already lead to a Master's degree, and what remains to be decided is the route to get there.
Duration, admission, international: the differences criterion by criterion
Six criteria allow you to decide, term by term, between the two formats at Excelia Business School.
- Duration: 12 to 18 months for a Master of Science, against two years for the Master in Management
- Approach: immediate specialisation on one side, a generalist progression followed by specialisation on the other
- Admission: for the Master in Management, a joint entrance examination bank shared by several schools, which you sit once, or a direct application to the school, against a file and an interview for a Master of Science. See entry to the Master in Management at bac+3
- Objective: rapid entry into a targeted career for the Master of Science, an overall vision and a graduate network for the Master in Management
- International: possible depending on the programme for a Master of Science, built around an international double degree for the Master in Management
- Work-study: available in both cases, depending on the school. Excelia Business School opens it to both paths, see work-study during the master's cycle
Which path matches your profile?
Certain signs point more naturally towards a Master of Science:
- You already know which career you want to move into
- You want to enter employment quickly
- You favour an operational approach
- You want to start a work-study programme without waiting
If these signs speak to you, what remains is knowing which Master of Science matches your project: Excelia Business School offers several, each built around a different field. The quiz that identifies in a few minutes the Master of Science (MSc) programmes that fit your profile helps you narrow down this choice before applying.
Other signs point rather towards the Master in Management: a specialisation that remains open, a priority given to international experience, the wish to draw on an extensive graduate network, that of Excelia, which has 53,000 graduates in 150 countries, or the will to build a career that can develop over the long term.
What graduates say
Beyond the criteria, there is the experience of those who have chosen. Whichever format is chosen, the same personal transformation recurs in the testimonials: Ligiannah Mohamed's testimonial, a graduate of Excelia Business School, is one example: "Excelia allowed me to push myself, to discover myself and to discover the world."
What differs between the two paths is rather the way recruiters value each qualification: the Master in Management for its historic recognition in generalist management, the Master of Science programmes for their targeted career expertise. Neither of the two outweighs the other with recruiters.
What Excelia Business School offers
Excelia Business School offers both formats. The Master of Science programmes at Excelia Business School cover several fields of specialisation, accessible after a bachelor's (bac+3) or a bac+4, while the Master in Management combines a core curriculum followed by a specialisation, with an international double degree possible. Both pathways are open to work-study. Fields, specialisations, destinations: this detail is available on each programme's page.
On recognition, no hierarchy applies: the Master in Management and Master of Science qualifications at Excelia Business School are State-accredited and confer a Grade de Master. The school also holds a quadruple accreditation (EQUIS, AACSB, AMBA, EFMD Master), which places it among fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide.
What remains, then, is a question of method, not of value: a Master of Science is the speed of an already identified specialisation; the Master in Management is the time to build an overall vision before deciding. Both lead to the same level of qualification, with the same recognition: the difference lies in the path, not the destination.
Frequently asked questions
- Do recruiters make a difference between an MSc and a Master in Management?
The Master in Management benefits from historic recognition for generalist management, the Master of Science programmes for their targeted career expertise: neither takes precedence over the other.
- Is the Master in Management more selective than an MSc?
The two paths do not share the same admission process: the Master in Management goes through a joint entrance examination bank or a direct application, a Master of Science is obtained on file and interview. This difference does not rank one qualification above the other.
- Do you already need to know which career to aim for to choose an MSc?
This is the clearest sign in favour of a Master of Science: already knowing which career you want to move into. If your specialisation remains open, the Master in Management gives you this time to build before choosing.
- Can you apply to both and choose afterwards?
Nothing prevents it: the Master in Management and the Master of Science programmes at Excelia Business School each have their own admission arrangements. You can submit an application for the Master in Management and for the Master of Science programmes at Excelia Business School, then choose once you have the responses.
- Does a Master of Science shorten your studies compared with the Master in Management?
Yes, in terms of duration: a Master of Science lasts 12 to 18 months, against two years for the Master in Management. This is not a shortcut in the sense of a lighter qualification, but a format that moves faster towards an already chosen specialisation.
